1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of games and gaming in which a gaming object determines a random event outcome at the end of random motion of the gaming object. The gaming object may, for example, be a roulette ball, roulette wheel or die. The invention further relates to gaming objects having variable visual properties.
2. Background of the Art
There are numerous games (without wagering) and gaming technology (with wagers) that use physical objects that assist in the provision of random event outcomes that are used to assist in game play or gaming outcomes. Among the games in which physical gaming objects such as dice, balls, wheels with pointers and the like are Craps, Yahtzee, roulette, Monopoly® game, Parcheesi, Bar dice, Pachinko, and the like.
There have been limited advances in some of these games over the years, In gaming environments, the most significant advances in dice and roulette games have been the conversion of the games to electronic formats, converting wagering to an electronic format automation of play, and adding bonus wagers (such as streak (wagers to the underlying game.
Examples of electronic wagering systems at gaming tables (e.g., roulette and dice games) include at least U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,659,866; 6,733,388; and 8,474,820; and Published U.S. Patent Application Documents Nos. 20130184044; 20040116177; and 20110065513.
Other technologies used to try and vary wagering systems, including roulette and dice games include U.S. Pat. No. 5,634,639 (Tokito) which discloses a ball game apparatus that has a plurality of balls, a spiral rail for automatically delivering the balls, a field portion on which the balls delivered by the spiral rail can roll with a given degree of freedom, winning pocket portions and invalid pockets formed over the field portion for receiving a plurality of the balls in each of them, a CCD camera for counting the number of balls received in the winning pocket portions and a calculator for calculating a score from the number of balls counted by the CCD camera.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,120,023 (Lai) describes a random access game toy, which includes a rod member, which has a plurality of longitudinal grooves and longitudinal number bars alternatively arranged around the periphery of a top end thereof, transparent container covered on the top end of the rod member, and a set of first color balls of a first color and at least one second color ball of a second color received in the transparent container, wherein the color balls fall to the longitudinal grooves to indicate a respective number at the number bars when the rod member is held in vertical, and are received in the transparent container outside the rod member when the rod member is turned upside down.
Published U.S. Patent Application Document No. 20060217169 (Manber) provides a means for randomizing and controlling objects in a zero gravity environment. The invention also replicates and enhances traditional casino gaming experiences in zero gravity, microgravity, low gravity and variable gravity environments. This includes adapted seating for players and staff, enabling wagering, and ensuring security and integrity of the games. Both traditional casino games, such as craps, roulette and blackjack, and new games of chance are provided and modified so as to take advantage of unique properties of zero, low or variable gravity environments. Games may be either attended or unattended, and wagering may be either on-site or off-site via remote communications. Virtual games may also be played in simulated zero gravity, low gravity and variable gravity. One method of uses eight colored balls, perhaps white, or of different weight and eight differently colored balls, perhaps black and white are set into play. At the end of play eight balls are randomly selected. In another game, sixteen balls are put into play, eight of one color and eight of another. At the end of play, the balls are randomly arranged in a four by four grid. Guest are able to place a variety of bets, including but not limited to: (a) the entire pattern, (b) any one column or row, (c) the pattern of the center four balls, and (d) whether there is more of a certain number of one color balls in the top two rows then the bottom two.
Roulette players have a variety of betting options. Placing inside bets is either selecting the exact number of the pocket the ball will land in, or a small range of pockets based on their proximity on the layout. Players wishing to bet on the ‘outside’ will select bets on larger positional groupings of pockets, the pocket color, or whether the winning number is odd or even.[5] The payout odds for each type of bet are based on its probability.
The roulette table usually imposes minimum and maximum bets, and these rules usually apply separately for all of a player's inside and outside bets for each spin. For inside bets at roulette tables, some casinos may use separate roulette table chips of various colors to distinguish players at the table. Players can continue to place bets as the ball spins around the wheel until the dealer announces no more bets or rien ne va plus.
When a winning number and color is determined by the roulette wheel, the dealer will place a marker, also known as a dolly, on that winning number on the roulette table layout. When the dolly is on the table, no players may place bets, collect bets, or remove any bets from the table. The dealer will then sweep away all other losing bets either by hand or rake, and determine all of the payouts to the remaining inside and outside winning bets. When the dealer is finished making payouts, the marker is removed from the board where players collect their winnings and make new bets. The winning chips remain on the board.
California Roulette
In 2004, California legalized a form of roulette known as California Roulette. By law, the game must use cards and not slots on the roulette wheel to pick the winning number. There are at least two variations. In some casinos, the dealer spins a wheel containing 38 cards from 1 to 36, plus 0 and 00, and after betting is closed, stops the wheel; a pointer identifies the winning card, which the dealer removes and shows to the players. In the Cache Creek casino in northern California, a wheel resembling a traditional roulette wheel is used, but it has only alternating red and black slots with no numbers. As the ball is spinning, the dealer takes cards from a shoe and places two of them face down on the table in red and black rectangles. When the ball lands in a red or black slot, the card in the corresponding rectangle is turned over to reveal the winning number.
Roulette Wheel Number Sequence
The pockets of the roulette wheel are numbered from 1 to 36.
In number ranges from 1 to 10 and 19 to 28, odd numbers are red and even are black. In ranges from 11 to 18 and 29 to 36, odd numbers are black and even are red.
There is a green pocket numbered 0 (zero). In American roulette, there is a second green pocket marked 00. Pocket number order on the roulette wheel adheres to the following clockwise sequence in most casinos:
Single-Zero Wheel
                0-32-15-19-4-21-2-25-17-34-6-27-13-36-11-30-8-23-10-5-24-16-33-1-20-14-31-9-22-18-29-7-28-12-35-3-26        
Double-Zero Wheel                0-28-9-26-30-11-7-20-32-17-5-22-34-15-3-24-36-13-1-00-27-10-25-29-12-8-19-31-18-6-21-33-16-4-23-35-14-2        The cloth covered betting area on a roulette table is known as the layout. The layout is either single zero or double zero. The European style layout has a single zero, and the American style layout is usually a double zero. The American style roulette table with a wheel at one end is now used in most casinos. The French style table with a wheel in the centre, and a layout on either side is rarely found outside of Monte Carlo. [citation needed]        
Bagatelle (from the Château de Bagatelle) is a billiards-derived indoor table game, the object of which is to get a number of balls (set at nine in the 19th century) past wooden pins (which act as obstacles) into holes that are guarded by wooden pegs; penalties are incurred if the pegs are knocked over. It probably developed from the table made with raised sides for trou madame, which was also played with ivory balls and continued to be popular into the later nineteenth century, after which it developed into bar billiards, with influences from the French/Belgian game billard russe (with supposed Russian origins). A bagatelle variant using fixed metal pins, billard japonais, eventually led to the development of pachinko and pinball. Bagatelle is also laterally related to miniature golf. Other variants of bagatelle useful in the gaming industry drop one or more balls (from 0.5 inches to 6.0 inches) drop or pass along a sloped surface past pegs or bumps to be deposited into slots, holes, trays or other recepticles that indicates values, symbols or outcomes.
Additional improvements in gaming technology are desirable.